SHOOTER

Were do we start? Ned Beatty as Dick Cheney, perhaps? The lefty political slant which was about as subtle as a hole in the head? Pardon the pun. Shooter was as much of a throw back to late 80’s, early 90’s actioners as we’ve been exposed to in a long time, dealing with issues of Ethiopian genocide and the cynical U.S. or Western foreign policy.

This kicks of with the ubiquitous ‘in the midst of the previous mission’ scene, which though later we’re told has a significant value to the plot, is nothing more than a cheap setup of yet another of Wahlberg’s two-dimensional characters. Then it quickly moves in to a JFK style assignation plot, and Wahlberg is now a lean Lee Harvey Oswald, on the run and on a mission to clear his name, blar, blar, blar.

Danny Glover is the best actor that I have ever seen…. nah, just kidding, obviously! He is pants in almost everything he is in, and this is no exception, this is his career defining role. Ham doesn’t cover how bad his is in this, as his ‘plays’ a corrupt U.S. Colonel, who recruits and double-crosses who you might refer to as our ‘hero’.

The sniper action is interesting and tries to portray itself as technically accurate and intricate, employing complex physics regarding gravity, humidity and the curvature of the earth etc. Whist much of this is true and holds your interest for a few seconds, aspects still needed to be toned down due to the horrific truth behind such shootings.

It has been suggested that shots of this power would leave little behind of its victims besides body parts and of course, this isn’t the case here, which I have no problem with as fair enough, it doesn’t need to be that gruesome, but with technical accurately on one hand and compromise on the other, it smacks of confused integrity to me.

The film plays out are you would expect, with chicle’s aplenty and a predictable plot, but it does maintain a sense of cynicism, be it over played by Glover who proclaims like a child throughout that “He has won” and that his is basically untouchable. This leads to its conclusion, which whilst delivering some much-needed satisfaction, is still boring and very neat and contrived.

Overall, this is a mess of a film, which has no real sense of pace or drama, and even less of an identity of its own, borrowing from the real events of JFK ‘s assassination and CNN, as well as every thriller from the 60’s onwards.